Failed Mission

The next morning, Iliana and Clara were awakened by Melina's yells.

"Dad, mum, we've been invited to the Harrison Heritage Hotel for a masquerade ball!"

"Oh my goodness! That's fantastic. We may be able to form a marriage alliance with the Harrison family as a result of this. I heard they have a capable successor already." Juliana smiled as she walked down the staircase.

"The Harrisons, on the other hand, are seldom seen in the limelight. But, in any case, chances only come around once. This is your chance to shine, my dear girl." Mark said as Juliana sat beside him.

"If we ever hope to form a marriage alliance with the Harrisons, I need to impress them, particularly, the heir. The function is this evening. As a result, I have less time to plan. I need to get started right away."

"Don't be worried, my dear daughter. Your mother is always willing to assist you in every way she can. Right?"

"Of course" Juliana affirmed while leading Melina away.

"Are you both really going to abandon me here?" Mark guffawed.

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Iliana and Clara stood at the entrance to the hallway, listening to the conversation below them. Iliana returned to her bed, exhausted, and went back to sleep. Clara let out a sigh as she watched Iliana return to her bed while she entered the bathroom. Today, she had a mission.

Mark had hired her to pressure one of his business partners into giving him a greater share of the profit from a deal than they had agreed on. If he refused to agree and she couldn't find the money, she was to kill him and flee the scene as soon as possible to keep Mark's name clean.

As she returned to the room, she saw Iliana sitting on the bed with her eyes closed.

"Iliana, what are you doing?"

She blinked her eyes open as she smiled, "I was praying"

"Is it even reasonable to pray to God at this time? When you've killed someone? And what happened after God took your parents away and left you at the mercy of your avaricious aunt and uncle?"

"I'm not sure. I simply have confidence that everything will work out. And to think you were the one who gave me advice the other day. Besides, we don't kill for the sake of killing. We do it because we have no other choice." With her head bowed, Iliana said.

"Whatever it is that keeps you awake at night. "I have a mission today. Would you like to come?"

"I have a work Clara. Juliana will know something's up if I go for this one. I'll be fine on my own."

"Alright, then." Clara said as she was cleaning her rifle.

Iliana began her morning chores after they had both completed their personal morning routines while Clara reported to Mark.

"Good morning Uncle."

"We will all be going for a ball in the evening. You are not coming along because you are not a member of the Roberts family. You will help Melina prepare for the ball."

"But I have work......"

Without waiting for her to finish her words, he walked away.

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"Good morning Boss!" Clara said when she saw Mark in his room.

"Clara, are you prepared for the mission? You must not fail." Mark said calmly with his eyes focused on the glass of wine in his hand.

"Yes boss."

"Do you need Xander or Creed to come with you?"

"No Boss. I will be fine on my own."

"Very good. You can leave now."

Walking outside, she saw the car prepared by Mark waiting for her outside.

She walked up to the driver and asked him to start the car. At 8:00 a.m., she arrived at her target's home. She took a laptop from her bag and turned it on. The oblivious driver sat there watching her fingers dance over the keyboard. The terms Access Gained suddenly appeared boldly on the laptop's screen. She set the laptop down and took a quick scan of her surroundings.

She squinted at the map of the house that had been sent to her. Her target's room was guarded by two men. She had twenty minutes to complete everything she wanted to do before the CCTV cameras she had hacked starts to function. She saw a maid exiting the house and waited for her to walk further outside before grabbing her wrist.

"Do I kno......." She trailed off as Clara had already covered her nose with a handkerchief before she could finish her sentence.

Clara dragged the unconscious maid into a corner and changed into her clothes. She kept the gun in a thigh holster and lowered the hem of the knee-length dress to hide it. She walked closer to the magnificent structure with her head down. When she reached the gate, she rang the bell and waited for a response.

The gate was opened by a man in a black uniform who let her in without searching her. She was about to enter the building when the man realized she wasn't the person he had let out previously. He walked closer to her and was about to stop her from entering when she turned and hit his head with her gun. She pulled him into a corner in the building and proceeded to continue walking into the building. She jumped into one of the rooms on the ground floor through the window.

The only way to get into her target's room, according to the map, was through a passage with ten guards at each corner. Outside the passage, Clara detonated some explosives while donning a nose mask. She seized the opportunity to unleash the gas compartment she came with when the guards ran out to see what had happened.

They all collapsed to the ground. She realized that after walking through the unconscious bodies only one guard would be left at her target's entrance. She got closer to her target's room and just as the man guarding it was about to say something to her, she passed out.

With a puzzled expression on his face, he caught her before she could fall to the ground. Before he could process what was going on, he felt a sharp pain in his neck as he fell down. Clara had used a tranquilizer needle to stab him. She walked quietly into their master's bedroom, satisfied with the success of her scheme. He seemed to have been sound asleep but he woke up upon her entry into the room.

Despite being clad in pajamas, the man seemed to have just exited a fashion show. For a few seconds, his forest green eyes seemed to capture her attention. Clara's mind went blank as she stared at his profile. He asked her, with a lazy expression on his face,

"Did Mark send you here?"

'How is it possible for someone's voice to sound so good?' Clara mused.

"Answer my question,"

She recovered her composure after snapping back to reality and responded,

"The briefcase is what I'm looking for." She replied expressionlessly.

"I must admit, you seem too fragile for the work you do. Here is the briefcase, but before I hand it over to you, what's your name?"

"Fragile my foot. Mr Cameron, you are courting death. Please hand over the briefcase" She said while pulling her gun from the holster.

"You are far too intelligent for your own good. I would have loved to see you try to use that on me, but you are currently surrounded."

Alex stated as the secret guards in his room emerged.

"Put your gun down and come closer."

She however ignored his command.

"I'm very sure you heard me clearly." Alex enunciated with a complex expression on his face.

After contemplating within herself, she knew she was at a loss and did as she was told.

"So, tell me, what's your name? You must not, in any circumstances, deceive me."

Clara was heartbroken. She didn't want to fail her mission, but she also didn't want to disclose her true identity to everyone. She tried to think of a fictitious name, but something in his eyes told her that he didn't make hollow threats, and that even Mark wouldn't be able to save her.

"Clara"

"Was it really that difficult? What a beautiful name for a fragile lady. Clara, Clara...." Alex repeated while moving a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Don't touch me!" She ordered as she shoved his arm away and closed her eyes to control her anger. Her eyelashes casting a shadow on her cheeks as she attempted to hide the disgust that was brewing inside her.

Smiling, Alex continued, "So there you have it, the briefcase. Also, make sure Mark isn't aware of anything that happened here."

"And who do you think you are to tell me what to do?" She replied looking up directly into his eyes.

The guards around her were taken aback by her reply. They were all angry as no one had dared to talk back at their boss before. The guards moved forward to attack her but were stopped by a wave motion of Alex's hand.

"I am someone you can never be worthy of. You are now free to leave." He replied.

"But boss, she just tr..." One of the guards started before he was cut off.

"Here, I'm the one who makes the rules. I said let her go!"

"Yes boss," the guard said, his head bowed.

She was escorted out of the room by the guard, who also showed her the way out of the house.

Just before she stepped out of the door, she replied with a mysterious smile on her face, "Someday, I will remind you of your words."

After saying that, she stepped out of the room and followed the guard.

"You must have had a lot of guts to think you might infiltrate our master's estate." He drawled while standing behind her.

"You're not going to say anything now? How brazen."

"Anyway, this is where we say our goodbyes. Farewell Miss" He said while looking at her departing figure in disdain.

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"We need to leave now"

The driver looked at Clara with a worried look on his face and started the car. An hour later, they arrived at the mansion and on entering, her subordinates bowed down to her.

"The mission was successful." She announced and they all cheered.

"I will go and give the boss a report now."

She walked into the house and stopping at Mark's room, she knocked.

"Come in"

"Good day boss. This is the briefcase." She said dropping it on the table.

"You have done very well Clara. Excellent! You can leave now."

"Yes Mr Williams." she said walking away.